California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Moore, No. S081479, No. SS980646 (Cal. 2011):
The Attorney General first argues that any error in giving these instructions was invited because defense counsel included both on his list of requested instructions. However, "[t]he invited error doctrine will not preclude appellate review if the record fails to show counsel had a tactical reason for requesting or acquiescing in the instruction." (People v. Moon (2005) 37 Cal.4th 1, 28.) Here, no such tactical reason appears in the record. CALJIC Nos. 8.71 and 8.72 were the commonly used pattern instructions on application of the reasonable doubt principle to lesser included homicide offenses, a topic on which counsel obviously and appropriately wanted the jury to be instructed. Trial counsel's failure to detect in the standard instructions the flaw appellate counsel perceives and to request a modification does not demonstrate a tactical intent to induce the error now claimed.
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